Work Van Accident – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

If you work as a van driver, you may be entitled to claim compensation if you’re injured whilst using a works vehicle. You could be entitled to start a claim against your employer or another road user depending on who was responsible for your accident. In this guide, we’ll explore when a work van accident claim might be possible, how the claims process works and what compensation could be paid for.

We can help if you are considering claiming compensation for an accident in a work van. When you get in touch, free advice will be provided as part of your free consultation. Once your claim has been reviewed by an advisor, they’ll clearly explain your options. If the claim looks strong enough, you could be connected with an accident-at-work solicitor who’ll represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis if you want to proceed.

To see if you could start a works van compensation claim, you can:

• Call our legal advisors now on 0333 241 2519.
• Use our online chat service (available 24 hours a day).

Please get in touch with any questions or read on to learn more about when it’s possible to claim compensation for accidents in works vans.

Can I Claim Compensation for an Accident in a Work Van?

If you drive a work van as part of your job, your employer must adhere to specific legal requirements designed to ensure your safety. This responsibility, or ‘duty of care’ is framed by key regulations that outline what employers must do to uphold their duty of care:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 means employers must take all reasonably practicable measures to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their employees, including ensuring that work vans are safe and properly maintained.
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) stipulates that all work equipment, such as work vans, must be appropriate for its intended use, regularly inspected and maintained, and operated by individuals who have received adequate training.

Additionally, other road users are legally obligated to conduct themselves in a manner that ensures the safety of everyone on the road, in accordance with the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.

As such, it may be possible to claim compensation following an accident in a works van if:

• The defendant in your case owed you a duty of care.
• You were involved in an accident in a works van caused by the defendant’s negligence.
• As a direct result, you suffered an injury or injuries in the last three years.

If you need clarification or assistance regarding your accident at work, please reach out to our legal advisors for expert advice.

What Can Employers Do to Prevent Works Van Accidents?

As per the duty of care explained earlier, here are some steps that could be taken by employers to try and prevent accidents involving work vans:

• Ensuring that the works van is properly maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s schedule.
• Ensuring that van drivers are suitably qualified for the type of vehicle provided.
• Providing PPE to help protect van drivers such as high-visibility jackets to help protect workers when leaving their vehicle.
• Training staff on speed limits and other restrictions while driving their van on work premises.
• Ensuring vehicles are fitted with proper signage about any limitations or safety warnings.

If your employer doesn’t take steps such as those listed here, they could be deemed negligent. If this negligence results in a workplace van accident, you could be entitled to claim for any suffering caused.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to Work Van Accident Claims?

Here are some examples of work van accidents that could result in a personal injury at work that we can help with:

• Where a labourer was told to sit in the back of a van which didn’t have seats or a seatbelt and was crushed by unsecured work equipment.
• If your van was hit from behind by another road user who failed to stop because they were distracted by their mobile phone.
• Where you fell from the back of your van and suffered a broken ankle because its step gave way due to excessive rust.
• If you suffered lacerations to your arms because of sharp edges caused by dents in the van’s doors.
• Where you suffered a slipped disc in your back when moving items you’re your van because you’d not been trained on safe manual handling techniques.
• If your van was involved in a road traffic accident caused by another road user who was over the drink or drug drive limit.

If we’ve not described your accident here, please get in touch anyway to let us know what happened so that we can assess your entitlement to compensation.

What Should I Do If I’m Injured Driving a Van at Work?

If you’re injured driving a van at work, taking the steps below can support your accident claim and help prevent similar incidents:

• Visit your GP or the nearest A&E department to get a thorough check-up and ensure all injuries are properly documented.
• Notify your employer about the van accident as soon as possible.
• Make sure the incident is officially recorded in your company’s accident report book.

Following these steps should not only help protect your health and the rights of any passengers but can also help improve health and safety measures, potentially preventing future accidents.

What Evidence Can Be Used for Works Van Accident Claims?

When claiming compensation following an accident in a works van, you should provide as much evidence as possible. This needs to demonstrate how and why the accident happened, who was to blame and any injuries you’re claiming for.

Some examples of the types of evidence that could help include:

• Details of any other road users involved in the accident as well as information about their vehicle and insurance cover.
• Photographs from the accident scene.
• Medical records from the hospital where your injuries were treated.
• Dashcam or CCTV footage of the incident.
• Police or HSE reports if your accident was investigated.
• Pictures of any visible injuries.

Even if you don’t have all of the evidence needed to start a van accident claim, it’s still worth speaking to a legal advisor. If your claim appears to be feasible and is accepted by one of our solicitors, they may offer to secure further evidence to substantiate your allegations as part of their service.

How Long Do I Have to Claim Compensation?

If you’ve sustained injuries from a work van accident there’ll be a 3-year time limit to claim compensation as per the Limitation Act 1980. Generally, this starts on the date of the accident.

One exception to the 3-year rule is when the injured party doesn’t have the mental capacity to claim compensation themselves. This might be true in more serious injury claims involving brain injuries.

Another exception is if the injured party, such as a passenger, was under 18. Their time limit would begin on their 18th birthday.

In these scenarios, a loved one, friend or responsible adult could act as the claimant’s litigation friend to try and secure compensation on their behalf. Please contact a legal advisor if you’d like to know more about this process.

How Much Compensation for an Accident in a Work Van?

The settlement paid for a successful work van accident claim will be normally based on the injuries sustained, physically and emotionally (general damages), as well as the financial impact of the injuries (special damages).

To ensure you receive the correct level of general damages, your solicitor will review your medical records and may request independent reports to help understand how you’ve suffered.

Special damages may also form part of any settlement you receive if your injuries have left you out of pocket. For instance, you could receive compensation to cover:

• Medical costs including surgery at a private hospital.
• Lost income.
• Travel costs (i.e. fuel and parking costs for hospital appointments).
• The cost of adapting your car or home to make accessibility easier if your injuries have caused permanent disabilities.
• Care and support costs.
• Future loss of earnings.

Any settlement should cover both current and future financial losses. As such, if your claim is handled by one of our accident-at-work solicitors, they’ll thoroughly investigate the impact of your injuries before filing your claim.

Do You Need a Solicitor for a Work Accident Claim?

Proving why you were injured in a work van and who was to blame won’t always be easy. That’s especially true if the defendant’s insurers contest any part of your claim. For that reason, you might benefit from the help of a solicitor who specialises in accidents at work.

Our solicitors will fight your corner and deal with all aspects of the claims process on your behalf. Additionally, they’ll try to ensure that any compensation offered truly reflects all of the suffering relating to your injuries rather than trying to settle the claim quickly.

Something worth mentioning here is that our solicitors offer a No Win, No Fee claims service for any case they take on. As such, you won’t need to pay for your solicitor’s work upfront once you’ve read and signed a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

When a CFA is used, your solicitor will work for you and will only be paid for that work if you are compensated. Then, they’ll deduct a percentage of your settlement as their success fee. Legally, the success fee percentage is capped at 25 per cent for your protection.

To see if a No Win, No Fee solicitor from our panel could help you to claim compensation for a works van accident, please get in touch now.

How Long Will the Process Take?

The time it takes for personal injury claims to be settled varies from case to case depending on the individual circumstances.

For instance, compensation could be awarded in around 4 months or so if you sustained a simple back injury, have completely recovered and the defendant (your employer or another road user) accepts liability quickly.

On the other hand, claims can take as long as a year (or more) in more serious cases. For instance, if you sustained severe whiplash and a traumatic leg amputation after crashing your works van, time may be needed to get a complete understanding of how your disability will affect you.

crucially, interim compensation could be paid while your work van compensation claim is being processed once liability has been agreed upon by both parties. These payments can help you with loss of earnings and any other immediate costs.

Contacting Us About a Works Van Accident Claim

Have you decided that you’d like to know more about claiming for a works van accident after reading this guide? If so, why not get in touch by:

• Calling 0333 241 2519 to speak to a legal advisor?
• Using our 24/7 live chat service.

We offer free advice as part of your no-obligation claim assessment. In the call, you can talk over what occurred, ask any questions and set out your case. If your case looks strong enough, we could put you in touch with one of our accident-at-work solicitors. Crucially, any work van accident claims they agree to handle will be processed on a No Win, No Fee basis.